India Inc margin seen up sequentially for the first time in 6 quarters: CRISIL

India Inc's revenue is expected to rise 14 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of this fiscal ended December 2022 to Rs 10.9 lakh crore, following a steady rise in volume and some price hikes, and driven primarily by the consumer discretionary segments, according to CRISIL.

On a sequential basis, revenue is seen up 0.9 per cent, and profitability 140 basis points (bps).

The Market Intelligence and Analytics (MI&A) research of CRISIL said in a statement that the operating margin is likely to have contracted 270 bps year-on-year -- slower than in the past two quarters -- as easing commodity prices provided succour amid moderating revenue growth. However, this would mark the fifth quarter of on-year contraction.

On a sequential basis, however, operating margin would rise for the first time in six quarters to 18-19 per cent in the third quarter from 17.2 per cent in the second, CRISIL said. The number has been falling since touching 23.7 per cent in the first quarter of last fiscal.

A CRISIL MI&A Research's analysis of over 300 companies (excluding those in the financial services, and oil and gas sectors) indicates as much.

For the nine months to December 2022, revenue is seen up 24 per cent on-year, while the margin is likely to have crunched 400 bps. Of the 47 sectors tracked, 20 are expected to outpace overall revenue growth in the third quarter, while three-fourths should see operating margin contracting on-year, the MI&A of the rating agency said.

Hetal Gandhi, Director-Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, said, "Revenue growth in the third-quarter growth would be driven by consumer discretionaries such as airlines and automobiles, while construction-linked ones such as steel, aluminium and some industrial commodities such as petrochemicals would underperform. Slowdown winds in the two largest markets abroad for Indian businesses -- US and Europe -- will curtail ITeS (BPO services) and lead to a contraction in the exports of gems and jewellery, and textiles as consumers there cut spending."

While revenue for airline services should ascend 41 per cent on-year, following a significant rise in passenger traffic and fares, for automobiles, it should drive past 22 per cent on higher domestic volume and realisations for vehicle makers, CRISIL said.

IT services is seen largely apace with the overall revenue trend, growing 13 per cent on-year. Revenue of construction-linked companies is seen up a fifth on a healthy rise in capital expenditure (capex) allocations by central and state governments for infrastructure build-outs, healthy growth in order book, and improved execution, MI&A research of CRISIL said.

Sehul Bhatt, Associate Director-Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, said, "Operating margins in the automobile, metals and construction sub-sectors, which had contracted in the second quarter, reversed trend sequentially in the third quarter. Of the 20 sectors expected to outpace on revenue growth, 10 should see a margin contraction and five marginal improvements. Companies are still not able to fully pass on higher commodity prices."

Operating margin in steel products is likely contracted more than 800 bps on-year due to a 15-20 per cent on-year correction in flat steel realisations, and costlier iron ore and coking coal, CRISIL said. Construction-linked sectors and industrial commodities would see a margin contraction of 500 bps on-year, largely due to elevated input cost and inability to pass it on to customers. For cement makers, margin is seen contracting 230 bps on-year, again due to higher input cost.

Jignesh Surti, Manager-Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, said, "Prices of key energy-linked commodities such as crude oil, and non-coking coal are expected to be moderately higher on-year but fall significantly sequentially from multi-quarter highs of the past 3-4 quarters. A continuation of this trend is crucial for the sustenance of, and improvement in, profit margins because growth in realisations could be limited in key sectors."

Margins of all major verticals, CRISIL said, are expected to contract on-year barring consumer discretionary, which should see a slight rise on-year, and consumer staple services. The margin expansion in consumer staple services will be supported by higher average room rates in the hospital sector. Absolute earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, is seen lower marginally on-year, but up more than 9 per cent sequentially.

( With inputs from ANI )

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